


on an eagle’s wings

by sieghxrts



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bird Puns, F/M, Gen, Middle School Crushes, guess what i did instead of studying for 3 major exams hahA
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-21 02:09:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16150322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sieghxrts/pseuds/sieghxrts
Summary: Talbott walks further into the office, and glances at the student next to him. “I need the chrysalis of a Death’s-Head Hawk Moth.”Rey freezes like a deer in headlights. “The what of a what-what now?”Merlin’s beard, this was going to take awhile.





	on an eagle’s wings

**Author's Note:**

> everyone’s favorite bird boy,,,  
> -gryffindor mc  
> -female player character (though honestly it's gender neutral no matter how you look at it)  
> -I use the name “reyla inoue” (SORRY LSKDFJSL) but feel free to use a word replacer if you want to use your own! \o/

Talbott Winger is in his third year when a certain Gryffindor student slides into the seat across of him. Her movements are abrupt as her hands hit the dining hall table, making a  _ bam _ that would have caused Talbott to jump were it not for him listening to her conversation just a few seconds ago. 

He gives a sigh and thumps his Charms textbook closed, his hands curling into fists on both sides of the book. “If you want to know something about me, just ask.”

The Gryffindor’s face morphs from a goofy grin to one of genuine surprise as they mouth a soft  _ oh _ . “How did you know I was talking about you?”

_ Because you just spent the past 15 minutes running around the dining hall interrogating every single tangible creature about my existence, you dimwit. _

Talbott stares at the student before him, all shock and genuine interest as they stare into his eyes. It’s strange - most people tend to look away when he glances at them, but Reyla Inoue just holds her gaze - as if she’s analyzing and dissecting him from the outside in. 

He doesn’t like it. 

“My hearing is almost as good as my eyesight.” Talbott settles on saying. “And besides, I’m used to people talking about me.” The last part is an uncomfortable truth he’d rather not share with the school’s problem child in their first conversation, but for some reason he finds that the words are just… spilling out. He bites his lip to stop himself before he says something even more incriminating.

“Well, either way.” Rey brushes past his last statement as if they’re leaves in the fall wind. “I heard you’re brewing an Animagus potion.” She places her chin on her hands and grins, as if she’s planning an illegal activity with dangerous consequences. Which she is.

“I’ve always wanted to transform into an animal, isn’t it fantastic? Becoming a bird, a cat, or a dog - imagine what you could do!” Rey’s eyes glint in the candlelight of the hall, and Talbott decides to look anywhere else but them.

He coughs. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

It’s almost comical how fast her grin falls, and Talbott feels a sharp pang of guilt as Rey quickly covers up her disappointment with a small smile of understanding. “All right. Sorry to bother you, Talbott…”

She moves to get up from the dining table, and-  _ oh what the heck _ . 

“Is it true that you sneaked into Filch’s office?”

Rey is back in the chair in a flash. “Depends on who you ask.” The devious glint is back in her eyes, and Talbott can’t help but wonder how someone like her got sorted into  _ Gryffindor _ . “Why? Do you want to know how to get in?”

Talbott unclenches his fists as he taps his finger against the wooden table. “I’m collecting things for a... _mutual_ _friend_ of ours.”

Rey blinks. “We have a mutual friend?”

He sighs as he looks down at the table and his  _ Standard Book of Spells _ textbook. “You’re probably surprised I have any friends at all.”

Talbott doesn’t know what he expected - a snide remark, maybe, more likely a soft comment filled with pity - but instead, he gets a bright laughter that seems to fill the already crowded hall. 

“Trust me, Talbott Winger. With everything I’ve seen at Hogwarts, nothing surprises me anymore.” She says it with an edge of pride and confidence that only first-years have when they walk out of their first Defence Against the Dark Arts class, and all of a sudden Talbott takes back what he says about the glint in her eyes.

It’s not devious, it’s outright bonkers. 

“We’ll see about that,” Talbott quips, steadying himself on the dining hall table as he gets up.

Rey stands up in suit, her eyes widening as they follow him. “What do you mean?”

He sighs. As much as he hates it, the benefits of this outweighs the consequences. “Let’s go, Reyla Inoue. You can show me how you definitely did not sneak into Filch’s office…”

 

\--

 

“Really? All you had to do was cast  _ Alohomora  _ on the door?” It’s so easy, so  _ simple _ that Talbott can’t help but feel irked that some meatheaded Gryffindor found out how to get into Filch’s office before he did. 

Rey shrugs as they walk into the musty room. “Hey, don’t ask  _ me _ why Filch makes it so easy to sneak into his office.” Her hand jumps to her chin as they scour the cabinets left and right, looking curiously for absolutely nothing in general. “So what exactly are we looking for?”

Talbott walks further into the office, and glances at the student next to him. “I need the chrysalis of a Death’s-Head Hawk Moth.”

Rey freezes like a deer in headlights. “The what of a what-what now?”

Merlin’s beard, this was going to take awhile.

“The chrysalis of a Death’s-Head Hawk Moth. Someone I trust told me Filch confiscated some last week,” He explains. “We’ll need it for the Animagus Potion - just look for a moth with skull-shaped markings.”

“Ah! I get it.” Rey hits the palm of her hand with a fist and shoots him a large grin. “Find the moth that looks like it’s wearing a Hallowe’en costume.”

Talbott doesn’t even bother replying - but at the same time, he begins to feel an emotion in his chest that he just can’t put a finger on. Whether it’s annoyance or something else, he doesn’t know.

After a few minutes of searching Filch’s office up and down, nook and cranny, Rey lets out a cheer from near the cabinets. “I found the badabing-bang thing!”

He walks over to where she holds out the chrysalis in her hands, and gives a nod of approval. “That’s definitely the  _ chrysalis of a Death’s-Head Hawk Moth _ . Nice work, Reyla.” He enunciates each syllable of the name like he’s in a spelling bee, ignoring Rey’s impromptu name of  _ badabing-bang thing _ . “Now we need to collect Dew from the Artefact room. After that, we’ll almost be ready to brew an Animagus potion.”

Rey perks up at a specific syllable, and her eyes widen. “We?”

Talbott frowns. “What?”

Her face morphs into a grin, wiggling her eyebrows as she crosses her arms defiantly. “You said ‘we’.”

_ Frog brains. _

“It was an accident.” He replies immediately, already moving towards the door of Filch’s office in the hopes of getting this over with as quickly as possible. He’s about to exit when a hand grabs his wrist and pulls him away and-  _ wow _ that’s a  _ weird _ feeling.

Rey’s hand is warm around his wrist, and Talbott tries not to think about how  _ long ago _ it was that someone bothered reaching out to him like that, but he’s too busy thinking about the fuzzy feeling spreading throughout his arm. 

“I think you did it on purpose.” Rey’s grin is  _ infectious _ , and it’s taking all Talbott can to not transform and fly away as far as possible.

He looks away and becomes incredibly interested at the dust near his feet. “No, I didn't.”

“I think you want to be my friend!”

“ _ Absolutely not _ .”  _ And please let go of my hand. _

“Everyone needs friends, Talbott.” 

Rey’s grip finally loosens, and Talbott takes the opportunity to yank his hand away. “Not me. I only fly solo.” 

“We’ll see…” She taps a finger against her cheek in thought, and he gets the precarious feeling that she’s plotting something horrible.

“ _ Right _ .” That’s what they all say, he thinks. “We’ll see what you think when you learn my secret…”

“Talbott Winger.” Rey’s voice is ominously serious, a stark difference from what it was just a moment ago. “I don’t care what people say about you, or what you think of yourself. You agreed to help me on this dangerous, and frankly, illegal idea of mine, and I could never be more grateful.” 

Before Talbott can even begin a reply, her tone switches again and she marches towards the office door with a joviality that was completely absent just a few seconds ago. “Now, let’s go get that Dew!”

And so they find themselves in the Artefact Room, and Talbott silently curses the animagus process for being  _ so long _ because they still need to find a Mandrake Leaf for Penny, have her  _ make _ the actual potion, and then wait for an electrical storm. The plan and process is so tedious (especially the One-Month Mandrake Leaf part) that Talbott promises himself that he’ll stay in this plan as only an outsider - like a contractor in a complicated business deal.

But of course it doesn’t go that way.

He finds himself talking with Rey even outside of their scheduled animagus charm classes, and she drags him all over Hogwarts whether it be to play gobstones, or share a meal. It’s strange, as his initial annoyance at Rey’s heckling has slowly morphed into begrudging acceptance to help her study for a complicated upcoming History of Magic exam. 

He blames it on the fact that she’s a complete dunce, and the fact that he’s had to remind her more than once that  _ What are you doing, you need to keep that Mandrake Leaf in your mouth for the entire month _ , much to Rey’s dismay.

“Alright, I think you’ve finally got it.” Talbott sighs as he puts down his wand in the empty Charms classroom. “Go ahead and cast the Animagus Spell, Reyla.”

Rey puts a right foot forward and puffs her cheeks out as she steadies her wand, and takes a deep breath before chanting, “ _ Amato Animo Animato Animagus!”  _ She spins the wand around to point at her chest, and at last a glow spreads from her heart to the rest of her body. She stares down at the light, raising her arms to watch it spread all the way to her fingertips.

A small grin spreads across Talbott’s face at her success. “Well? Did you feel anything?” He asks, eager to know if it worked. 

Rey puts her hand to her chin, deep in thought once again. “I thought I may have felt a second heartbeat, but…” She raises her head to glance at Talbott, only to quickly look away.

Talbott blinks. “But what?”

She keeps her head turned in the other direction, finding newfound interest in a forgotten Charms textbook left in the classroom. “Nothing. It must have been my imagination.”

He shakes his head. Girls are weird. “Well, you’ll need to perform that spell every dawn and every dusk without fail until the next electrical storm.” He looks up at a clock above the classroom door, quickly realizing what time it is. “In the meantime, we should talk to Professor McGonagall about your… situation.”

The walk to the Transfiguration classroom is a quiet one compared to his usual conversations with the school Curse-Breaker, and Talbott finds himself just the  _ slightest _ bit concerned. He opens his mouth, wanting to ask something along the lines of  _ “Are you okay?” _ but for some reason can’t bring himself to do so. 

(And then Tulip spots him walking down the stairs with Rey, shoots him a thumbs up, and he forgets everything he wanted to do in the first place other than  _ incinerate Tulip Karasu _ .)

As he shoves opens the heavy doors to the Transfiguration classroom, Rey seems to perk up as she glances around in every direction. “Wait, why are we going to see Professor McGonagall again?”

Talbott gives only a shrug in reply, walking up towards the professor’s desk. “Don’t ask me, ask that cat.”

Rey spins around to stare at him, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “I thought I was supposed to be the crazy one.”

As if on cue, the silver tabby cat standing on the professor’s desk suddenly turns around and jumps off, turning mid air into their very own Transfiguration teacher. “No, Ms. Inoue. He is simply better-informed. The two are often mistaken.” 

Rey jumps backwards in shock at the transformation. “Professor McGonagall! I-”

McGonagall frowns, looking down at her in confusion. “You know I’m an Animagus. Why are you acting so surprised?”

Rey’s eyes dart back and forth between McGonagall and Talbott, giving a nervous laugh as she slowly stands straight up again. “I’ve just never seen you… change before.”

Talbott coughs. “She means she forgot you’re an Animagus,” he mutters under his breath.

“ _ Hey! _ ”

McGonagall’s lip twitches ever so slightly as she gazes down at them. “Well, now you remember. What can I do for the two of you?”

“Reyla is thinking about becoming an Animagus,” Talbott explains, “and I thought she should talk to you about it first.”

“It certainly is something you should consider carefully before coming to a decision.” McGonagall nods at the prospect, and launches into a heavy lecture about the advantages and disadvantages of animagi. Talbott nods, occasionally glancing at Rey only to see her doing facial gymnastics in response to the topics at hand. 

“There is, after all, an extraordinary amount of risk involved with the transformation process,” McGonagall concludes, “and once you become an Animagus, you will also need to register your status with the Ministry of Magic.” She turns to give Talbott a pointed glance. “Isn’t that right, Mr. Winger?”

Talbott freezes, nodding his head and shuffling his feet. “...Yes, Professor.”

“You’re an Animagus, Talbott?” Rey asks in surprise, staring at him with a mixture of concern and awe. 

McGonagall coughs in response. “An  _ unregistered _ Animagus, yes. An oversight that Mr. Winger has promised me he will rectify sooner rather than later.” Another pointed glance at Talbott. “If he does not, he knows that I will view it as a personal affront, and drag him to the Ministry myself.”

“Yes, Professor,” He echoes again, feeling considerably more uncomfortable than he was when they first entered the room.

They exit the classroom and the door makes a heavy  _ clang _ as it closes shut. Almost immediately, Rey whirls around to face him. “Talbott, why don’t you just register?”

He shifts uncomfortably in his shoes, looking at something at the end of the hall. “Maybe if you beat me in a game of Gobstones, I’ll tell you.”

Rey lets out a laugh in response, giving him a small pat on the back before marching ahead. “Challenge accepted!”

 

\--

 

They meet in the courtyard days later, and Talbott feels absolutely terrified.

Does he trust Reyla? Wait, are they even  _ friends _ ? He doesn’t know what level of friendship people should be at in order to talk about their  _ tragic backstories _ . He doesn’t know if he’s even  _ reached _ that level of friendship in the first place. 

“I see you’ve adopted another pathetic  _ friend _ , Inoue.” He hears Merula’s voice echo from across the courtyard, and suddenly Talbott wants the ground to swallow him whole.

“Shut it, Merula,” Rey suddenly snaps as she walks towards him, a nasty snarl on her face, “You’re just jealous that not everyone wants to be friends with someone like  _ you _ .” She makes her way over to Talbott and proceeds to give him a wide grin. “So! Are you finally going to open up to me, Talbott?”

He nearly doubles over, glancing back and forth between the smiling girl in front of him and an extremely disgusted Merula behind them. “Uh...” Talbott gives an awkward cough before continuing. 

“To be honest, I want to register, but I don’t know if I’m ready.” He looks down at the ground where the gobstones are laid out, ready for a game. “The only person I’ve ever told is Professor McGonagall.” He suddenly looks up at Rey, cocking his head to one side in interest. “Hey, if you could become an Animagus, what animal would you want to be?”

She crosses her arms from where she stands in front of him, raising her head in defiance. “You’re just trying to avoid opening up to me, aren’t you?”

“Oh, I definitely am.” Talbott deadpans. 

Rey huffs in response, but tilts her head to look up at the sky. “I know you can’t choose your Animagus form, but....” 

She spreads her arms out like they’re wings, and tilts her head to one side as she shoots Talbott a small smile. “Wouldn’t it be great to be a bird?” She hops around him from one leg to another, as if reenacting a dance. “I’d love to know what it feels like to fly…”

Talbott wants to reply, and mention that flying is  _ the best _ thing about being able to turn into an eagle - that the reason he spends so much time in the Owlery is actually because of how open the room is, how he can feel the wind through his hair and then through his feathers as he jumps into the open sky - but they’re in a  _ very _ populated courtyard and it’s frankly not worth it for him to spew about a secret identity he’s kept hidden for all of his life.  _ Especially _ with a certain dimwitted curse breaker in front of him.

He opts to let out a small laugh instead, causing Rey to stop in her tracks and stare at him questioningly.

“Honestly?” He begins, crossing his arms. “I think your animagus form would be a dog.”

Rey raises an eyebrow in response, placing her hands on her hips as she raises an eyebrow. “ _ Oh really? _ ”

“Yes,  _ really _ .” He raises a hand and begins listing off traits on his fingers. “First of all, you’re frighteningly social.”

“ _ What is that supposed to mean? _ ”

“You have an incredibly short temper,” 

_ “Listen up, you birdbrain-” _

“And you tend to get involved in everything, even if it means you’ll end up hurt.”

Rey opens her mouth in and raises a pointer finger in protest, only to grit her teeth in response. “Just because you’re  _ right _ doesn’t mean you should say it…”

Talbott lets out another laugh, and he swears his cheeks begin to hurt because  _ wow, he’s not used to that facial expression _ . “You could even play with Fang and fight over that stick he loves so much on the castle grounds.”

Rey lets out a sigh, a single hand covering her face in defeat. “That… actually doesn’t sound too bad, to be honest. But!” She jabs her pointer finger at Talbott accusingly, narrowing her eyes at him. “Enough about me.  _ You _ need to tell me your story now.”

Talbott narrows his eyes in response, gesturing at the gobstones set out in front of them. “If you can beat me at Gobstones, I’ll do more than that.”

 

\--

 

“That was a mistake,” he admits, only minutes later when he is completely and utterly devastated by his loss.

Rey lets out a laugh, cheering at her victory. “You should know, I’ve learned a trick or two during my time at Hogwarts.” She leans toward him, over the gobstone set. “ _ Now _ are you ready to tell your story?”

Talbott sighs, getting up and dusting the dirt off his robes. “I don’t  _ want _ to, but… we’re friends.” (Rey lets out a soft  _ yes! _ at the comment.) “Just… not here.”

He leads the way to the Owlery, and so it is in the open space filled with birds and covered with feathers that he tells his story. “My parents opposed the Death Eaters in the Wizarding War.”

Talbott hears Rey tense up from behind him, and walks up the stairs of the Owlery to the open windows where the owls fly in and out of the room. “They weren’t in the Ministry or any special organization, but they wanted to help fight The Dark Lord’s rebellion.” He leans against the stone brick wall, gazing outside - towards the open sky, and the rolling green hills.

“My mum was an Animagus, so she taught me how to become one just in case I ever needed to escape. When the Death Eaters finally came to our home, changing forms helped me get away.” Besides him, Rey settles on the floor of the staircase, following his gaze outside. 

“...And your parents?” She asks, her voice almost a whisper.

“...They didn’t make it.” He replies, his voice not much louder. 

They stare outside in silence, and feelings Talbott thought he didn’t have anymore swell up in his chest.

“I’m so sorry, Talbott…” Rey replies after what seems like a century, glancing at him with more worry on her face than before.

He waves a hand, dismissing her pity and swallowing, willing his emotions to go away. “If I registered as an Animagus, the Death Eaters might have known. They could have caught me, and killed me too.” He looks at his own hands, one that can turn into wings if they wanted to, and remembers That Night. His mother screaming at him to run, his father yelling from somewhere in the room, and red embers filling the house as it burnt to the ground and covered the land with ash. 

Talbott shudders at the memory. “...I’ve been afraid to register just in case it ever happens again.”

Rey gets up, keeping her distance but staying an arm’s reach away. “You-Know-Who is dead, Talbott. He’s not coming back.”

He sighs, giving her a small glance of uncertainty. “I hope you’re right, Reyla.”

They stand there for a long time, and Rey’s voice breaks through the silence. “Thanks for telling me what happened.”

“Don’t worry about it, it feels… good to finally tell someone,” He admits. “Maybe I’ll finally register… Mostly because it will get Professor McGonagall off my back.”

Rey lets out a small laugh at his side comment, and places a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Good luck, Talbott.”

“Good luck, Reyla.” He graces her with a small smile of his own. “And who knows? Maybe your Animagus form will really be a bird.”

And with that he jumps into the open sky, his face turning into a beak and his feet turning into talons as he transforms into an eagle, and as he flies away, he can vaguely hear Rey cheering from the Hogwarts Owlery. 

(He lands back in the Owlery a little bit later, and Rey is still there, laughing with an energy that she’s never had before. She gives him a smile, and for some reason, Talbott feels heat rising to his cheeks. 

“Your feathers are beautiful, Talbott.” She tells him, and turns away to leave the room.

The heat in his cheeks grows hotter, and Talbott realizes with a jolt that he’s blushing. 

_ Frog brains.  _

He probably looks like an idiot, blushing in front of a girl and it’s  _ really _ not what it looks like but-

Rey glances back over her shoulder and shoots him a small grin, only to whip around with wide eyes after seeing his face. “Merlin’s beard.”

If there’s any moment when Talbott wanted to scream, that would be now. But he can’t, so he resorts to covering his face with a hand. 

“Ah! Wait, Talbott-” He cracks a few fingers open to peer at him through his hands, only to see her face as red as a beet as well. 

“Did I say something wrong? Was that rude?” Rey panics, slowly inching closer to him as she reaches her hands out. “I’m sorry, I’m still new to this Animagus thing so I-”

He shakes his head. “No, you didn’t say something wrong. It’s just…” he lets out a groan and removes his hands from his face. “It’s nothing.”

Rey blinks, her eyes filled with uncertainty but takes his word for it. “Do you…  _ egret _ telling me your story?”

Talbott slowly takes out his wand.

Not noticing, Rey only continues in oblivious glee. “I’m sorry I made it so…  _ hawkward _ .”

He raises his wand, and readies a spell. “Incen-”

“Wait, Talbott!” She runs yelling out of the Owlery, and he chases after her in quick pursuit.)


End file.
